Two pilots have been killed after an Air Canada plane collided with a firefighting vehicle at New York's LaGuardia Airport
The plane, carrying 72 passengers and four crew, initially landed safely from Montreal on Sunday evening - here's how the incident unfolded
Some 41 passengers and crew were taken to hospital - all but nine have since been discharged. Two fire truck officers are in a stable condition in hospital
"We were 100 metres away... it was like the plane got cut in half", a witness tells the BBC
The airport, which is one of the busiest in the US, is expected to remain closed until at least 14:00 ET (18:00 GMT) - what's the latest on travel?
Were you on board the Air Canada flight? Have you been affected?Get in touch
Audio from the air traffic control tower at LaGuardia reveals what was said in the seconds before the crash.
You can hear an air traffic controller giving directions and then all of a sudden they frantically tell a truck to stop repeatedly as beeping goes off. The audio then ends.
'Stop, stop, stop': Audio from moments before LaGuardia crash
The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) has issued a statement describing the fatal incident as a "profound tragedy".
"These pilots dedicated their careers to the safe transport of passengers, and we are all thinking of their families, loved ones, and colleagues at Jazz Aviation during this devastating time," said Capt. Jason Ambrosi, the association's president.
“ALPA's accident investigation team is on scene assisting the National Transportation Safety Board with its work, and our Critical Incident Response Program is working to support ALPA members and the families involved.”
ALPA is the world's largest airline pilot union, representing more than 80,000 pilots in North America.
Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from LaGuardia Airport
Image source, Sakshi Venkatraman / BBCPassengers have been constantly checking the flight board, which up until this point has displayed every single flight as cancelled.
That’s changed now, with a few flights displaying departure times at noon and 14:00 local time.
It’s unclear how that will work given that the airport is only slated to re-open at 14:00 (18:00 GMT). Security and baggage services are still shuttered.
The people that I’ve talked to say they are preparing to be here all day.
Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from LaGuardia Airport
Image source, Sakshi Venkatraman / BBCKatie Rojas says she finished a whole movie on her plane before they told passengers to evacuate.
It’s been a long night for Katie Rojas, 26, whose flight to Chicago was on the runway and ready to depart when the Air Canada incident grounded all planes.
“It tried taking off twice and both times literally stopped in its tracks,” she tells me, adding that after two and a half hours of waiting onboard, pilots announced that the plane was being evacuated.
“They said there was a smell coming from the plane. I don’t know if that was just something they were saying.”
Once she deboarded and got back to the terminal, Rojas saw swarms of emergency vehicles in the area. She learned about the accident online later.
United Airlines re-booked her on a flight for 07:00 today, which was also cancelled. Now she has been re-booked again for a 15:20 flight, but security is closed and there’s no way to check her bags.
She has been camped out on the floor of the airport now for 12 hours, just waiting to get home.
“It’s scary,” she said of the accident. “You never know if it could have been one of us.”
Flights have now resumed at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, one of the three major airports servicing New York City, following a temporary pause due to an unrelated incident.
An earlier advisory from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the "ground stop" closure was due to a "tower evacuation", with reports of a burning smell coming from an elevator about 07:30 local time (11:30 GMT).
The advisory was removed from the FAA's website by 09:00 local time.
The pause put further strain on New York's transport connections, with two of the city's three major airports temporarily out of action at the same time.
Travellers had already faced hours-long airport security queues in recent days due to an ongoing partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security.
Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from LaGuardia Airport
Leo and Diego
Leo Medina, 23, was on the tarmac expecting to take off to Miami last night when he looked out the window and saw the collision that killed two pilots on an Air Canada plane.
“We were literally like 100 meters away,” says Medina, who is from Chile but working in the US for a few months. “It was like the plane got cut in half.”
He adds: “At first I was like 'what’s happening, I don’t get it' and then there were a lot of ambulances and stuff.”
Medina says his flight, which was about to take off, had to return to the gate. He and his friend Diego Chavarría have now been waiting in the airport for 12 hours, sleeping on the floor on a bed of jackets.
“We’ve just been trying to make it work, sleeping,” Medina says. “Starbucks is the only place that’s open.”
He’s anxious, he says, especially after witnessing the accident, but his flight has been rescheduled to 2:30 in the afternoon and he says he still hopes to make it to Miami.
The full extent of damage to an Air Canada Express plane and a firefighting vehicle has been made clearer by daylight images of the crash.
Some of the latest pictures from the scene show debris hanging from the nose of the plane, while the emergency vehicle involved in the crash lies a few metres away on its side.
Image source, AFP via Getty Images
Image source, Reuters
Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesSakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from LaGuardia Airport
Travelling to the US from South Korea, Ja Hyun tells me the flight cancellations have left her with no idea what to do next.
She has been at the airport for several hours now trying to fly to Chicago for business. Her original flight was supposed to depart at 07:00 local time (11:00 GMT), but it was cancelled. She was then placed on a 10:00 flight which was also cancelled.
"When I heard about the accident I was worried," she tells me.
I asked what she’s going to do now. "I’m not sure," she replies.
Across New York, flights have also been temporarily paused at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.
An advisory from the Federal Aviation Administration said the "ground stop" closure was due to a "tower evacuation", with reports of a burning smell coming from an elevator around 07:30 local time (11:30 GMT).
The pause will put further strain on New York's transport connections, with two of the city's three major airports now out of action. John F. Kennedy International Airport remains open as usual.
It comes as travellers have faced hours-long airport security queues in recent days as a partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security continues.
Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesMayor of New York City Zohran Mamdani says he has "been briefed on the tragic collision" at LaGuardia Airport.
"I am grateful to our first responders, whose swift actions saved lives," he says.
He adds that the National Transportation Safety Board "is investigating the incident, and the City is in close contact with federal, state, and local partners".
New York Governor Kathy Hochul calls the incident "heartbreaking". She adds: "Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and everyone affected."
Image source, Getty ImagesWe've just heard from US Transport Secretary Sean Duffy, who says that his "prayers this morning are with the families impacted by the ground collision at LaGuardia".
He confirms some of the information given by the Port Authority this morning, and adds that "at least 2 Port Authority firefighters sustained serious injuries".
"We will continue to work closely with the National Transportation Safety Board and share additional updates as soon as possible," Duffy adds.
Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from LaGuardia Airport
A board at the Air Canada terminal shows all flights cancelled
I’m at LaGuardia Airport's Terminal B, where on a typical day several Air Canada flights arrive and depart.
Today, it’s chaos.
A board shows that every departing flight this morning has been cancelled. Confused passengers are huddled on benches or sleeping on the floor. Many have small children with them.
Some people are on the phone desperately trying to sort out their travel plans. Others are just waiting in hope that the airport opens back up.
LaGuardia is no stranger to flight delays, but this is another level. Nothing is moving. There are no lines, no cars outside, and there are hardly any airline personnel to direct people.
The airport is truly shut for the moment.
Image source, ReutersAs we've been reporting, the Air Canada plane collided with a vehicle that was responding to "a separate incident" on Runway 4 of LaGuardia Airport.
We've heard some more detail about this separate incident from Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia.
The "vehicle was responding to another aircraft, operated by United, that had reported an issue with odour," according to Garcia.
She later said that the "a pilot, who had had multiple attempts at take-off, requested support. They were responding to that request."
Freya Scott-Turner
Live reporter
Image source, ReutersPort Authority Chief Executive Kathryn Garcia holds a press conference
Officials are still piecing together what caused an Air Canada Express plane to crash into a vehicle on the tarmac of one of the United States' busiest airports.
Here's a look back at how it unfolded:
22:12 ET (02:12 GMT): Air Canada flight AC8646 departs Montreal, Canada, over two hours late, according to tracking website FlightAware.
"Minutes before" 23:40: A Port Authority rescue and firefighter vehicle is called to a separate issue on a plane at LaGuardia Airport in New York, that had "requested support".
At approximately 23:40: The plane collides with the firefighter vehicle on the ground while landing at LaGuardia.
23:40: Emergency services "immediately responded".
03:09: LaGuardia Airport says that the "airport is currently closed" due to the incident.
At around 03:30: The "first portion" of National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) - the investigation team - arrives.
04:48: Port Authority Chief Executive Kathryn Garcia holds a press conference, confirming that two Air Canada pilots have been killed, and nine people remain in hospital.
Looking ahead:
14:00: Officials say this is the earliest time that LaGuardia Airport could reopen, as the investigation is still currently under way on site.
LaGuardia Airport remains closed while officials investigate the cause of the collision.
Pictures show emergency workers at the cordoned-off site, with officials directing traffic away from the airport.
Passengers were earlier pictured exiting the airport, with Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia saying most had now left.
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty Images
Were you on board Air Canada flight AC8646? Have your travel plans been affected by the closure of LaGuardia Airport?
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LaGuardia Airport sits in the East Elmhurst area of Queens, the easternmost borough in New York City.
It's one of the busiest airports in the United States, with over 32 million passengers passing through in the last 12 months.
While the airport primarily caters for domestic flights, it offers some international destinations including to Canada and the Caribbean.
In 2015, an $8bn (£6bn) project to redevelop the airport launched, with 18 new gates and a new concourse opening in 2018.
Image source, ReutersStranded travellers sleep on the ground at New York's LaGuardia Airport
All arrivals and departures from LaGuardia Airport have been cancelled or delayed until further notice.
The airport's closure affects hundreds of flights, with carriers including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, and Air Canada.
Airport authorities have said LaGuardia will be closed until at least 14:00 local time (18:00 GMT).
A small number of flights scheduled to depart on Monday morning were listed as delayed, rather than cancelled.
The full list of cancellations and delays can be found on LaGuardia Airport's website, external.
Image source, LaGuardia AirportLaGuardia Airport's online departures board shows a long list of cancellations
We have just heard from Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia, who said an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will look at all aspects of "exactly what went on during the crash".
Responding to media questions, Garcia gave a couple of specifics that the NTSB will look at, including:
Image source, ReutersThe Air Canada CRJ 900 aircraft suffered significant damage in the collision, which killed two pilots.
Two pilots have been confirmed dead after an Air Canada plane collided with a firefighting vehicle at New York's La Guardia Airport.
The plane, carrying 72 passengers and four crew, was travelling about 24mph after arriving from Montreal on Sunday evening, local time.
Forty-one passengers and crew were taken to hospital, along with two officers who were in the ground vehicle; 32 are now out of hospital, but some others have "serious injuries".
The New York City Fire Department told people to "expect cancellations, road closures, traffic delays and emergency personnel near LaGuardia Airport".
Kathryn Garcia, the Port Authority Executive Director, said the airport to be closed "until at least 14:00 local time (18:00 GMT)" to facilitate an investigation.
